


Shattered

by LeChatRouge673



Series: Thea's Song [36]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Angst, blood mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:20:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26684305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeChatRouge673/pseuds/LeChatRouge673
Summary: Prompted by @roguelioness on tumblr.
Series: Thea's Song [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/890931
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Shattered

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by @roguelioness on tumblr.

She wished she could say the blood on the floor of their kitchen was a surprise.

Cat did not speak as she went into the bathroom of the apartment she shared with Thea and retrieved the first aid kit. She remained silent while kneeling down beside her cousin where the younger woman had slumped on the floor, holding her hand out while staring listlessly out into space. Cat cleaned the wound, which fortunately appeared to be fairly superficial: she was not in any particular mood to have to go to the emergency room tonight. Then she neatly wrapped it in gauze and a bandage before standing up to wash her hands. Thea mutely stood up, her legs a bit unsteady beneath her, and reached for the roll of paper towels in the kitchen cupboard before beginning to wipe up the blood that had spilled on the tiles.

“You cannot keep doing this, Thea,” Cat finally spoke up quietly, sweeping shards of shattered glass into the dust pan and then depositing them in the trash. “I know you are angry-”

“‘Angry’ does not even begin to cover what I am, Cataline,” Thea shot back, a spark returning to her eyes as she scrubbed the floor with more vigor than was probably warranted. “I am sorry I am not able to grieve in a way that suits you.”

Cat took a deep breath, and she suspected Thea could see the hurt in her eyes, because her cousin seemed to shrink slightly. “Catkin, I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I did not want you to see me like this. I don’t want you to have to worry about me, or have to deal with me when I break.”

“I assume that is why you have been avoiding my calls all day?” Cat asked softly, and Thea shrugged, her eyes dropping to the floor. “Thea, I do not understand why you feel like you need to hide your hurt from me.”

“Because I know that, as bad as it is for me? It is infinitely worse for you,” Thea mumbled, and Cat sighed. She could tell there was more that Thea was not saying; something she was holding back, but Cat was not willing to press her on it. Not now; not while she was keeping her own secrets.

Like the fact she knew where Nathaniel had disappeared to.

“I don’t want you to have to carry my grief, too, Catkin,” Thea whispered, bringing Cat back into the present. “It has been five months, and I still can’t figure out if I am mad, or heartbroken. If I hate him or if I love him and just want him to come home. He was my best friend, and he just… he just _left_.”

Cat closed the distance between them and wrapped Thea in her arms. Despite her pain, both on her hand and in her heart, Thea still refused to cry. Cat had not seen her do so since the day Thea’s best friend, the love of Cat’s life, had walked away from Ferelden. From them. In a way, she wished she would: she suspected Thea might feel better if she released some of her pent-up rage and grief rather than letting it fester, only to lash out as she had tonight.

“Thea, I will _always_ be here for you,” Cat murmured, gently rubbing Thea’s back. “And I need you just as much, you know that?” She held Thea back at arm’s length so she could face her. “I. Will _never_. Abandon you.”

“I know, Catkin,” Thea replied. “I… I am sorry. I should have been there for you, today. I knew it was going to be hard.”

“Yeah,” Cat agreed with a sigh. This was the first year they were not all together for Nathaniel’s birthday, and she had known it would be difficult. “But I understand. I just wish you would stick to ceramics. You always cut yourself when you start tossing glassware.”

Thea gave a short bark of laughter, and Cat managed a small smile in return. “Yeah, I know you’re right. I will run to the store tomorrow and pick up new ones.”

“Why don’t we go together,” Cat offered. “We can go out to breakfast, then run to the store and wander for a bit.”

That prompted a small, but real, smile from her cousin. “Ok. I think I’d like that. In the meantime, want me to make some tea?”

“Do we have any of the sleep blend left?” Cat asked, moving to the cupboard, grateful for the subtle but effective shift Thea had made to bring them both back to reality. This was a bad day. There would be more bad days to come, though she prayed they would become less frequent with the passage of time. “Hey, Thea?”

Thea looked up from the kettle she had just set on the stove. “Yeah, Cat?”

“You know I love you, right? I always will.”

Thea reached out her good hand, taking Cat’s in hers and squeezing.

“I know, Cat. I love you too.”


End file.
